Catalonia holds pro-independence protest, main roads blocked in Barcelona

A strike called by pro-independence groups and trade unions in Catalonia on Tuesday left subway stations in Barcelona closed, and pickets blocked main roads, Reuters reported. Civil servants also walked out in response after hundreds were injured in a Spanish police crackdown on a banned independence referendum. The stoppages, were originally billed as a region-wide general strike, while the country’s largest unions disavowed it. Two largest unions in Spain said on Monday they would not take part in the general strike. They called for dialogue between the central government and Catalonia, criticizing both the call for independence and the tough police tactics.